I've been keeping track and it has been saying that it is supposed to be 82 degrees on Thursday and 84 on Friday and dry, until this week. Suddenly the temperature has been increasing each day. Agility is outdoors and in the open. Now it is supposed to be about 88 with scattered thunder showers!!! Not okay!

Please do whatever dance, prayer, chant, spell or whatever to make it cooler and dry! Thunder scares many dogs and that would not be fair to those poor pups.

Best of luck for the rest of the weekend. do they not have an indoor venue in cases like that you would think 100 degree weather would be unsafe for a pup to train or run in without over heating

_________________Kathy

Austin Red/Buff October 21, 2009 - "Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity." Mark Twain [color=#8000BF]

I'm not sure whether anyone dropped out from the competition because of the heat, but they should have. The heat in the outside ring where the agility was held was really too hot to run the dogs OR the humans.

We did notice, however, that the numbers of participants were down. Don't know if it was because of distance to the show or the predicted heat.

Several people chose to not go to the Nationals when they heard about the heat. On Friday many people pulled their dogs from various runs.

I kept Star in the a/c room in between runs so that she could be nice and cool. I kept an eye on her for any signs of heat related problems and kept her cool coat on as well as giving her access to plenty of water.

However, in spite of all that Star ended up with heat exhaustion throughout the weekend AND she is a young dog! She slept as usual on the drive back home on Friday but Saturday morning when we went to another trial that was indoors in New Hampshire she was not herself so I picked her up from the ring and went home.

I think the Nationals HAVE to be indoors if they are going to be held in the summer time. It is cruel to be expected to endure that weather for both canines and humans. It seems outrageous that an organization that purports to support dogs would do something so irresponsible. There are many new people at each trial who would not necessarily know to pull their dogs. I've learned the hard way.

Star is back to herself as of yesterday but we skipped all of our Monday classes to give her a chance to fully recover before any type of exercise.

We look forward all year to this event and one would think that we should have optimal conditions so that each running team can do their best. Instead, it seemed as if things were set up to do the opposite.

I'm not sure how but I'm on a crusade to change things so that in the future this does not happen.

I can only imagine how hot and hard it was on the dogs. I had planned on taking a few of the rescues out on Sunday for the Rescue Parade but wouldn't even do that due to the heat - and Sunday was cooler. I sure hope all the dogs were ok.

I am so glad that you are addressing the issue with the heat and having the agility competition outside in the heat of the Summer. It was so not fair to those who participated and I can't imagine how you and the rest felt running the agility course.

Even the obedience events which were held under the cover of a pavilion weren't well attended. They even cancelled some of the classes because there were no entrants.

This same situation happened 5 years ago when the Nationals were last held in Sturbridge and this time they changed NOTHING! I only hope that the powers in charge make some changes so the participants and their dogs are not in jeopardy over the weather.

You and Star performed admirably during the Nationals as evidenced by the number of ribbons earned.

I agree with you Sylvia. Thankfully Sunday wasn't too bad and even that day there were moments when the humidity was awful. I was really concerned about all my dogs but especially Miss Maxine who hadn't been well for a few weeks before and has a bad heart. I can't imagine running a dog in weather that was hotter and more humid than it was on Sunday.

I'm glad there were no serious repercussions due to the runs being outside. Please give Star our best and I'm glad she's recovered.

I was also thinking about all of you on Thurs and Fri in the heat. I gave up going to the lake Friday because my dogs would have not been cool enough(AC does not work very well there in 100 degree weather), but they were nice and cool and comfy at home in their AC. Always put their needs before my wants! Yes they would have been cool in the water but not afterwards, so it was best we stayed home-kinda wierd to say it was too hot to go to the lake! I was so glad to log on here and see no one suffered any ill effects. So glad Star recovered. Congrats to you and Colleen for your victories! And I am so proud of our Maxine-I am one of the lucky ones who was fortunate to meet her last year. I do not know how people in Fla and other hot parts of the country deal with the heat-if I am not swimming I am a recluse in the AC.

I'm glad Star is back to herself and it doesn't surprise me that you knew what to do. I hope you will be able to get in touch with the right people to voice your concerns and have them consider making changes, or at least alternative arrangements, for future shows. I bet there are others who feel the same way, you just have to find them a mount a respectful campaign. Part of the draw of New England in the summer is you anticipate cooler weather but you never know. I kept telling my husband, "Oh those poor dogs" the entire time.

Well, it is almost September now so I can officially say that those two days of the Nationals agility were the two hottest days of the year! We've had low 80's mostly high 70's every since!!! The Monday after the trial it was 74 degrees.

I sent out my letter of complaints (yes, plural) duly emphasizing the heat and the need for an indoor trial. The sad thing is that we do have many wonderful indoor places here in New England where a trial can be held and even with room for the other events. This one is one of my favorites: http://www.wideworldofindoorsports.com/It has room for four big rings plus crating, etc.

As others sent their complaints one person mentioned that the room used as a Tack Room in Sturbridge, which I never ventured to go to, apparently they had the morning coffee there as well, was air conditioned and big enough to have a trial there!

Anyway, just letting everyone know that hopefully we'll have a better experience in the future even if it comes back to New England.

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